Page 20 of Bishop's Queen

Her eyes bounced up and down, assessing him as though she were fitting a suit. Not checking him out, but more like… measuring. “I have things to do. Then we can just do that and get going?”

Finally. Something they could agree on,afterhe talked to Titan about his history with Ella. “Absolutely.”

His gut churned, and he didn’t know if that uncomfortable sensation stemmed from her sane suggestion or the fact that he had to go explain how he didn’t recognize his hot ex in a file folder. “Give me ten to grab my gear, and we’ll head out.”

“I’ll be in there.” She gestured to the bathroom that he’d just wrangled her from. “I like it.”

“Right.” Ella was nuts. “I’ll knock. You’ll answer. It will work that way. It can be like your home away from home if you’re here at Titan for any reason. Deal?”

Her grin was less fake than any he’d seen thus far. “Deal.”

Turning, he wanted to find a piece of jerky and down it in private before Eco-Ella freaked out again. “See you in ten.”

“One more thing.”

Bishop pivoted but kept walking backward toward the jerky. “Yeah?”

“I have to drive. I have herbs in my car. The plants are important; I’m working my way through the neighborhood, handing them out—”

“I can move them. No problem.”

“I’d really prefer not to move them.”

“Why?”

“I’ve had success in cultivating an urban garden program. Arlington went really well, and we vlogged about it like crazy. People loved it. But now…” Her eyes lit as though she was waiting on a mouthwatering dessert. Even her voice jumped an octave to match her smile. “There are these local beekeepers that the DC Parks and Rec department partnered with. But I thought that it would be great to focus segments on pollen sources. Pollenating plants are basically bee protein and—”

“That’s not why I can’t move them.”

She pursed her lips. “My plants are fragile. You’re not.”

“That would’ve been a much faster explanation.” For a half-pint size of a woman, she didn’t waver when she decided she wanted her way, which was, as his luck would have it, every damn time.

“I can carry your plants, Ella.”

“They’re herbs,” she corrected.

He dropped his eyebrows. “Aren’t herbs plants?”

“Well, the lavender—”

“And isn’t that a flower?” Not that he knew shit about that.

“You don’t want me to get into the explanation of the nearly forty known species of lavender and how it’s both an herb and a flower, do you? Since your preference was for my more expedient explanation.”

Bishop smirked. “They’re green. Have roots. Drink water. Sprouted from a damn seed. We’ll call them plants.”

“They’re important. And you have to be careful with them.”

“Do you fight over everything these days?” he asked.

“I’m protective over things I care about.”

He could relate to that. But seriously, they were battling over garden items that he generally ate. “I’ll be careful while carrying yourherbs.”

“Honestly,” she pushed. “We should just take my car.”

He waved an internal white flag, not pleased at the loss. Though it was only this round. “Fine.”

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